Those seeking academic doctoral degrees are preparing for work in academia or research. Academic doctoral degrees are suitable for students who want to gain employment as administrators in secondary or post-secondary schools. Professional doctorate degrees are sought by students who want to become experts in their field. Thus, professional doctorate degrees are suitable for those who explore careers in consultancy, leadership and management, according to the website WorldWideLearn. Decide if you want to take classes on a campus or enroll in a degree program online.
Assess your career goals. Identify topics that strike your interest. Consider areas of specialization in business (DBA), education (EdD), health administration (DHA), nursing practice (DNP), philosophy (PhD), psychology (PsyD), public health (DrPH) and social work (DSW).
Research doctoral program in which you can enroll. Make a list of programs in which you are interested, and include the name of the degree, the school and its location, the department head of the doctoral program and the contact phone number. Call professors or department heads of each program to gather more information about the programs and gain insight about the school's environment. These factors will help you decide if a doctoral program in a specific school will meet your needs.
Learn which schools offer reputable programs. Research the reputation of the schools that you have selected. Identify if the reputation of the program is due to the department head's work or collective works of all faculty members. Choosing a reputable program can make a difference when landing a job. Employers favor graduates of reputable doctoral programs.
Prepare to finance your doctoral degree program. Some individuals may be eligible for scholarships, which must be completed months before enrolling in a doctorate degree program. If an individual has exceeded the allowable, aggregate amount of undergraduate and graduate student loans, a student must make arrangements to secure a loan to cover educational costs for a doctorate program.